How to clean and cut crabs

How to clean and cut crabs

Clean and cut crab, how to buy, clean and cut crabs. Learn how to clean and cut the crab using step by step pictures.

I hardly make crab recipes at home because I did not know to clean and cut the crab. My mom who is now here taught me how to clean the crabs. Before I saw the demonstration, I was inevitably barraged by questions about the crab cleaning process.

Many people like me get anxious when they hear words “cleaning crabs” because it conjures for them an image of a lively crab, its hands and legs. The reality is much simpler. Believe me! You do not need kitchen aptitude at all. All you need is a little bit of patience to clean and cut the crab.

Buying crab. No matter what dish you make, if the crab is not fresh and good, your dish will reflect it. The best crabs are ones that are active and aggressive. Crabs should smell clean and avoid the ones that have ammonia odor. You can buy frozen crab, but avoid defrosted crab because they might have been refrozen several times.

Now, I would not claim myself to be an expert on cleaning and cutting the crabs. I am still learning, but I just want to share the happiness with you!

Preparation time. 15 minutes

What you need:

Crab
Knife

How to clean and cut crab

1. If the crab is live, blanch it in boiling water for 60 seconds. Once the crab is killed, show the crab under cold water to prevent it from further cooking. Turn the crab on its back and remove its triangular shaped apron. 2. Now hold the crab in a vertical position. You will see a hole from where the apron was removed. Insert your thumb in the hole, which is in between the body and shell, and remove the top shell apart. Discard the top shell.3. Now, remove the grey pointy-shaped gills on either side of the body. Then twist off claws and legs and keep them aside.4. Cut the body of the crab into sections. You can wash and use it as such, or you can remove the meat and use it in your recipes.5. Cut the legs into into sections through the body. For the flavor to get into crab’s leg, you can make a gentle crack suing a knife on the crab’s legs.Now, crab is clean and cut into sections!

How to clean and cut crabs instructions below:

Clean and cut crab, how to buy, clean and cut crabs. Learn how to clean and cut the crab using step by step pictures.

Ingredients

Crab

Knife

Instructions

If the crab is live, blanch it in boiling water for 60 seconds. Once the crab is killed, show the crab under cold water to prevent it from further cooking. Turn the crab on its back and remove its triangular shaped apron.

Now hold the crab in a vertical position. You will see a hole from where the apron was removed. Insert your thumb in the hole, which is in between the body and shell, and remove the top shell apart. Discard the top shell.

Now, remove the grey pointy-shaped gills on either side of the body. Then twist off claws and legs and keep them aside.

Cut the body of the crab into sections. You can wash and use it as such, or you can remove the meat and use it in your recipes.

Cut the legs into sections through the body. For the flavor to get into crab’s leg, you can make a gentle crack using a knife on the crab’s legs.